It’s been said before, but all life’s a journey, be it traveling in The Van or just getting through the day.

Thursday, August 9, 2018

Circling The Drain – – I Mean The Lake

It’s Sunday morning (June 19 in real time) and it’s time to
start heading on up to Michigan for the family reunion, (Mom really doesn’t
like it if I’m late. . .) but first there’s plenty of time this morning for one
last hike.

Though I have to admit that I’m kind of over this hot-and-humid-jungle
stuff found here along the Ohio River. Oh sure, this time of year it’s hot and humid
back in Central Texas too, but at least there I don’t have to deal with the abundant,
or rather over abundant, ticks and chiggers

and instead of being ensnared in a claustro-tunnel of
green, I can see through the woods a
little, as this photo above, taken along one of the trails on our property, shows.

But at least this 3.5 mile trail sticks fairly close to the shoreline of Lake Glendale

which allows for frequent glimpses of a longer view than just
the leaves of the next fern there three feet in front of my face, or rather the spiderwebs between me and the fern there three feet in front of my face.

I pick up the trail just a few feet from my campsite just as the overnight fog is starting to lift

and the sunrise start to this hike adds a little color to the
view.

Shortly after setting out counter-clockwise around the lake
I come across the cleared ground of a combination picnic/group camping area.

Ever since I arrived on
Wednesday the road into here has been blocked off so I guess no one has
reserved the place.

Not that I’m complaining!

Standing in the same place I took the previous photo, I
turned towards the lake and took this one. If you look close you will see three
other creatures

that also aren’t complaining about the people-free picnic
grounds.

Leaving the turtles to do their – well – turtle stuff,

I quietly worked my way a little farther around the lake,

at one point getting lucky enough to capture this
flora-and-fauna vignette through the choking surrounding vegetation.

Whatever this signpost was trying to say, it has been
forever silenced now.

Near the eastern end, the swampy end, of the lake two
unnamed (As far as I have been able to determine anyway) creeks feed into the
lake.The first is not much more than a
slightly wetter area in the already wet of this low ground but the second is somewhat
more substantial and the concrete crossing certainly looks worse-for-wear, but
is still easily negotiated, especially by a two-sticker like me.

Crossing the unnamed creek means I’m now headed west and by sheer
luck of timing a streak of orangeish light from the rising sun sneaks in through a narrow gap in the trees, zips over my
right shoulder, and makes the end of this fallen log glow as if it's lit from
within.

A few seconds either way and I would have missed this.

And it’s not like there’s loads of places where sunlight can
get all the way to the ground around here.

Shortly after taking this photo a kayaker drifted in from
around the point near that white tree.

I sat quietly and watched as the kayaker
gently drifted along the shoreline with the occasional, slow and deliberately soundless stroke of the paddle.

I didn’t take any photos of him/her, or otherwise make
myself known, because whoever it was deserved this solitary moment to
themselves.

If you look close in the highlighted area of this photo what
you are seeing is the plethora of spiderwebs I’ve collected on my hat this
morning. In addition to keeping a close eye on my light-colored pant-legs for the telltale
dark spot of rampaging ticks and the tiny red dots of vicious chiggers, I’ve been pulling webs off my face and spitting
out the little bits of bugs and spiders that come with them ever since I
stepped onto the trail. The downside of being first out.

So it was a relief to step out onto the cleared ground, the web-free environs, of
the Pine Point Picnic Area which is on the opposite side of the lake from the
campground.

Adjacent to the picnic area is the official beach and the
only place swimming is allowed on the lake.

If it looks kind of gatey with lots of NO signs posted
around, that’s because it is.

The beach is run by a concessionaire that want’s blood
$4 from anybody using it. To that end the picnic area is separated from the
beach by a high fence (Just visible on the far side of the trees two photos ago) and the only way in is through
this building.

Saddly, if you want an early-morning or sunset swim you are
shit-out-of-luck because the concessionaire has taken banker’s hours and
one-upped them so your swimming is restricted to the absolute worst UV hours of
the afternoon. But during those hours they are more than willing to sell you
overpriced grill-food, goggles, and water pistols for your swimming enjoyment!

Of course this is our own fault since it’s a direct result
of our unwillingness to pay for the upkeep and running of our own public lands.

This medallion marks point R5 of the State Water Survey.

I don't know what that is either, but they do have a facebook page, which to me pretty much guts their credibility. . . but that's just me.

Once I get across the dam at the head end of the lake the
sun is going to be shining right off the lake into the camera, so I will leave
you with this last photo taken from the dam looking out across the 82 acre lake.
(Swimming gulag area just visible as a string of dots, buoys holding up the official boundary rope, to the left)

In the meantime there’s a slot at a Fort Wayne Walmart, 430 miles away, waiting for me so I better wrap this hike up and get on the road.

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About Me

For the first 18 years my parents told me what to do. For the next 40 years ‘The Man’ told me what to do. Now I’m retired and have to figure out what to do all by myself. . . I’m still waiting to see just how well that works out. . .